Darkness
by windrider86
Summary: In the hardest of times, Allison Taylor vows to confront her fears and change her sad and painful life. She finds an unexpected ally which will help her to achieve her goals... But darkness doesn't give anything for free...
1. Welcome to Hell, Allie

_The Simpsons _and all its related characters belong to Matt Groening and Fox, and all that stuff… This is my second story, a bit longer, and divided in a few chapters. Enjoy!

**Darkness**

_Hello to you all. My name is Allison Taylor. Most of you know me - if you even know me- as Lisa Si__mpson's best friend. But what I'm gonna tell you has nothing to do with Lisa, or with our friendship._

_As many other children, I've been afraid of the dark for quite a long time, but when I entered puberty, I realized it was time to face my fears. As I was sent to a catholic boarding school when I was eleven -courtesy of my religious mother-, I had no other choice, either.__ I won't bother you with all the pain and sorrow they made me live; I'll only tell you about the events that will let you understand the whole story._

_It all began the very first night I spent in that horrible place. We were two dozens of girls sleeping in the same big, dark and cold dormitory… and I realized pretty soon that sleeping it was the last thing __I was gonna do in that creepy room. My old and truly unpleasant bed was in the corner, very far from the creaking door, making me, a lonely, shy and nerdy girl, the perfect victim for more than twenty girls. I knew what was gonna happen, and I told myself: "Welcome to Hell, 'lil Allie Taylor"_

_And poor 'lil Allie Taylor began to learn how cruel a bunch of nasty, unhappy girls can be. As a "warm-up", they insulted me for nearly an hour, using terms I won't dare to repeat. Then they went on with the threats -most of them fulfilled in the following months- and then… the next step could be only one: they got me out of bed and began to push me from one side to another. Then they hit me and slapped me, laughing like hyenas… oh, still today I remember the sound of their hideous laughter… Before going further, they stuck a handkerchief on my mouth, so I couldn't yell out for help. And I had really good reasons to yell. They pricked me with needles and pins, even hairpins, leaving my arms and legs like pincushions; without stopping this torture they started to pull at my hair, tearing out several locks. Heaven only knows what I did to them -perhaps the mere fact of being there and being an easy victim- to receive such a painful punishment._

_And they didn't end there. All the pricking torture was making me cry like a waterfall, as I have a very sensitive skin; my tormentors noticed this fact and didn't forget about it. Being unable to cry, despite I tried to do it with all the force of my lungs, it was a true miracle I didn't get suffocated with the dirty handkerchief in my mouth. When they guarded their metallic instruments or torture -waiting for the final act-, four of them grabbed my legs and arms and began to toss me up and down, stopping me a few inches away from the floor… until they got tired of stopping me. My whole body hit the cold, hard floor; my knees nearly got broken, and my uncontrollable and desperate sobbing only cheered 'em up. What in Hell were those devilish girls? For sure they weren't human._

_As my sore and hardly punished body was lying defenseless on the floor, at least a dozen of hands ripped off my nightgown. What could come next? They began to scratch my whole body with their nails 'til they made me bleed; when they got tired, they threw me again to the floor and put me face down. Pressing me hard against the cold stone, they grabbed firmly my ankles and wrists. I knew what was coming next: they began to prick my hands and feet. Along my palms and my soles, in every finger and toe… Maybe it was because all the accumulated pain, but for me it was the worst part._

_When they eventually got tired and went to bed, I stayed there, lying on the floor, weeping and sobbing with a dirty handkerchief stuck in my mouth. Almost naked, with my pale skin covered with thousands of torture marks, I didn't dare to move for many minutes._

_As I finally tried to get to my bed, I realized I couldn't put my hands or my feet on contact with anything, so I had to make my way crawling along the floor, moving my hips and using my elbows and knees to advance. When I reached my bed, I somehow managed to climb up the mattress and I stood there, face down. Then I got the handkerchief out of my mouth and began to wipe my tears. As my hands searched for my stolen pillow and sheets, I noticed something sticky was pouring out of them… it didn't surprise me, and my feet were even worse; I barely could walk during the following days._

_But despite all what they had done to me that dreadful night, or maybe because of it, I resolved to show everyone they couldn't be able to break me down. They wouldn't defeat me. I was gonna teach 'em all something Lisa had told me once: "The power to endure harm outlives the power to inflict it"_

_There and then, lying in the darkness, I made a promise. What I didn't know, is that darkness heard me, and it made its own promise: it would help me to fulfill my promise… _

_But someday, I would have to pay the price…_


	2. A brave girl and a deep hole

**Chapter 2:** A brave girl and a deep hole

_Still today I don't know how did it happen, but it happened. Nothing could have prepared me for the strange events that changed my life forever… I believe no one could have ever been prepared for something like that._

_As you may guess, the days and weeks right after the worst night of my life were as near as horrible as those dark hours carved with blood and pain in my body and soul. But as I've told you, I wasn't gonna break down. No, I wouldn't give up so easily. They wasted their most awful tortures in those first weeks, and they made me cry like I had never cried before… but I didn't surrender. That was a mistake they would regret for a long time… They had wasted their chance; now it was mine._

_Anyway, my situation wasn't getting any better; my new partners had temporarily left the physical torture to one side, but that didn't mean they were going to stop harassing me. They never missed a chance to taunt me, wherever I was or whatever I was doing. They picked on me for any reason they found, real or not: my intelligence, my shyness, my Irish origins... that hurt me very much. Some of them even accused me of trying to "steal" them their boyfriends... but I didn't even know the boys...! After that, they began to calling me dyke and things like that; it didn't affect me as much as they wanted to, as I had talked enough with Lisa to understand homosexuality wasn't something "bad" or "shameful". However, I wasn't a lesbian... but do you think those girls really cared about that?_

_The night of Halloween was going to change it all. Nothing would ever be the same again._

_October hadn't been as cold as I expected... or maybe the cold showers had something to do with that. In one of the few and rare moments of relative peace I could enjoy, I was walking around the garden, between the trees which had given me my new name amongst the students: "Weeping Willow". That was cruel and sadly true; it was very easy to make me cry, and I made it almost every day. But I tried my best not to think about it. It had been raining for the last hours, and the afternoon sky was still covered with gray clouds, a sight somewhat depressing, but I was surprised to find it soothing and beautiful. The fresh wind gently caressed my soft skin and my long hair floated gracefully in the air._

_While I enjoyed the refreshing smell of the wet grass, I closed my eyes and let my mind soar over the gloomy world that tried to crush my poor little soul; I traveled to a place very far from there, where I was happy and nothing could harm me. No more worries, no more pain... Glory, Paradise, Heaven... call it however you want; I wanted to stay there forever and never return to my depressing life._

_But reality had another plans for me. Still with my eyes closed, a noise got me out of my wonderful daydream; a group of girls was coming near. I had to escape. Quickly, I hid behind a willow, near the river that crossed through the school's grounds, but soon I heard something that made my blood to freeze in my veins. Those girls were talking about a former student who had died on Halloween fifty years ago; she had been drowned in the river by her classmates... the same river now I was staring at with horror._

_The girls stopped several meters away from my position. As I couldn't risk myself to make a movement, I stayed there and listened to the scary tale._

_- And you say they never found the body? Cool..._

"_Cool" wasn't precisely the word I had in mind, but I had to remain silent._

_- Hey, I got an idea... Yeah, that's a cool story... But I think it's time to create a new one. Are you with me?_

_- Are you nuts, Kate? We can't kill a girl! It's a crime!_

_- What are you saying, Phoebe? Are you gonna tell the nuns, huh? Do you wanna be the victim? Five against one, nerdy... You don't have a chance._

_I didn't see Phoebe, but I know she was as scared at me in that moment... Her voice was only a faint whisper as she talked:_

_- Okay, I'll stay with you... But I don't want to be a murderer..._

_- You'll be the storyteller, then... And try to make a good story; if the nuns ever get to suspect what really happened, you'll lie forever in the bottom of this river._

_- No... No..._

_- But don't worry, you won't be alone... Taylor will make you company for eternity._

_I screamed and started running like a deer, praying I'd be fast enough to get out of danger. I had to get to the main building at any cost; if they caught me, Allison Taylor soon would be nothing but a tragic reminder of the "human" cruelty._

_- GET HER!_

"_Like Hell you will, you damn monster"_

_I dashed between the trees, but I was getting very tired; my long and thin legs had carried me very far, but they were aching too much and soon I wouldn't be able to move them. Almost by a miracle, I jumped over a fallen tree and for a second I thought I was gonna make it, but my hope sank as a dead body tied to a heavy stone when I saw the old and rusty iron fence a few meters in front of me. End of the way. Literally._

_I heard Death coming for me, and there was nothing I could do; I couldn't climb up the fence and I couldn't climb down to the river. I was in a blind alley. An ancient oak was gonna be the only and silent witness of my early demise. Who knew if it wasn't the first murder the old tree had seen during its long long life..._

_When the gang arrived, they found me sitting by the oak, humming an old song. I don't know why did they stop, but I wanted to think I awoke the kindness which was sleeping deep in their hearts._

_- Oh, God... What in Hell were we going to do...? Sorry..._

_- WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?_

_- Kate, we can't do it! We can't kill her!_

_- Yeah, just look at her! Are you mad?_

_- Why have we been so mean to her? She didn't deserve it!_

_I couldn't believe it; now, five of the six girls wanted to spare my life. My blue eyes shed tears of joy, and that just helped me more._

_- Oh, my... Look at her eyes..._

_Phoebe knelt down and began to cry._

_- I'm sorry, Allie... I'm sorry... Please forgive me..._

_- GET OUTTA MY WAY, YOU WIMPS! I'LL KILL HER WITH MY OWN HANDS!_

_- But why? What has she done...?_

_- GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE OR I'LL KILL YOU ALL!_

_My blood began to boil; I completely forgot about my fear and yelled as loud as I was able to:_

_- Hey, let them go! I'm the one you want, so come for me!_

_The girls stared at me, amazed that I had pronounced those words. I not longer looked like an easy prey; maybe my body was thin and weak, but my will had grown stronger during those last minutes. I wasn't gonna flee anymore._

_- What are you saying, Irish bitch?_

_- Let them go and face me if you got what it takes. And stop insulting my origins! Do you know how many Americans descend from Irish people? You should study your history, instead of bullying and torturing people who is weaker than you!_

_I couldn't believe what I was doing, but I couldn't control it; it was going out from the deepest part of me. It was something that had to be done._

_Kate grumbled and mumbled something; I'm not sure what it was, but I don't think I wanted to understand it._

_- Okay, this is over; we're going back to the school. Kate, are you going with us?_

_- No... -Kate said in a somber tone-. You can go... And better not tell anyone about this..._

_- Fine. But if Allison and you aren't back before dusk, you'll be in trouble..._

_Kate grumbled again and the other girls left. Before disappearing from sight, Phoebe turned back and looked at me one last time; she was still scared, and her eyes went from me to Kate a couple of times. Then she quickly got away. But I got it. That wasn't over for me._

_- What are you waiting for? In less than an hour it will be dark..._

_I tried to remain calm, but my instinct -and Phoebe's sign- told me I was in serious danger. If Kate wanted to stay alone with me, it could be due to two things: she wanted to apologize, or... Great. She didn't want any witness, and something told me "sorry" wasn't the word she had in her sick mind. I began to deeply regret I hadn't left with the other girls... Why...? Well, that didn't matter anymore..._

_But then, why did she stay there, silent and without making any move?_

"_Time..."_

_No! She wanted the other girls to be far enough so they couldn't hear me screaming! How could I have been so stupid?_

_- Okay. Time to go._

_- Huh?_

_- But only one of us will see the school again..._

_I stepped back as Kate got a small knife out of her pocket._

_- But why? WHY? For Heaven's sake, what I've done to you?_

_- __It's nothing personal, I swear... But you won't live to find out the truth._

_Surprisingly, I found those words to be sincere, but that wasn't going to save me._

_- Sorry, but you must die._

_I managed to dodge the first attack, but she tried to stab me again. I desperately looked for a way out, but I hadn't enough room to run away towards the fallen tree; if I reached it, I might be able to escape. I was way faster than Kate, and maybe I could catch Phoebe and the other girls if I was lucky._

_Unfortunately, my aggressor seemed to be aware of my intentions and didn't give me any chance. Within seconds, she had cornered me against the oak._

_- Game over, bitch._

_- I'm only eleven! What's the point in calling me such a nasty thing?_

_How I was able to talk like that in such a moment is something I still don't understand._

_- DIE!_

_The blade snapped off a small piece of bark, and I saw my chance. Bad move. Kate dropped the weapon and charged at me, knocking me down; the impact nearly broke my legs. Growling like an enraged beast, she tried to choke me, but somehow I managed to fight back, scratching her face with my nails and making her bleed; that got her even more furious, but it gave me enough time to crawl back and..._

_Next thing I remember is that I was desperately trying to get out of a deep hole. The oak guarded a secret between its big, centenary roots, and I didn't notice it until it was too late. I tried to cling to life, but my efforts were futile; my fingers slipped over the moist ground and I fell into the blackness._

_- NOOOOOOOOOOOOO...!_

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><p>Sorry for the lateness. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I expect your reviews ;) Seeya!<p> 


	3. A journey through the dark

**Chapter 3:** A journey through the dark

_When I awoke, the first thing I noticed was an unbearable pain; every part of my body hurt like if it had been struck by a thousand rocks. I guessed that was fairly close to the truth. Due to the fall, my nose was bleeding, but that was a minor problem compared with my knees; I felt like if they had been hit with a hammer. While I cried my heart out, I didn't dare to move, afraid that my knees were broken. _

_My eyes were flooded with tears. Everything around me was dark, no trace of sunlight in that hole. Somehow, I managed to stop crying for a second, only to find out something that would make me cry even harder. As I tried to get up, my back hit something solid and I fell again; my chest hit against the cold, hard soil... and I started crying again. I tried to crawl back, but my feet hit the walls of the hole. I tried to turn around, but my sore elbows found no room to move, only earth and rock. Recklessly, I got up with all my strength and I hit the back of my head against the ceiling of the passageway; I lost consciousness even before my forehead hit against the floor._

_After a while, I awoke again. For a second, I thought it all had been nothing but a horrible nightmare... but sadly, the nightmare was for real. Angst, fear and pain worked together to torture my heart; my poor little heart... it couldn't bear it all anymore._

_I was trapped. I was alone. Alone in the dark. And no one was going to save me: I'd have to do it on my own._

"_Don't waste your time crying, Allie. You're going to need all your energy to get out of this hell"_

_I breathed heavily, frightened to run out of oxygen, something that would happen soon if I didn't calm down. Trying my best, I eventually relaxed enough to make sure I wouldn't die suffocated... in the short term, at least._

_With my mind a bit clearer, I quickly resumed the situation: I was alone, trapped in an underground tunnel, and nobody -not even me- knew where I was. No one was going to help me. I couldn't go back, and I couldn't go up. Just one way: going ahead._

_I gathered all my strength and began to crawl through the narrow gallery. It was a very difficult way, but I didn't mind my torn clothes or my sore limbs: I wasn't going to give up. No matter how hard it could be, I couldn't stop; my only hope was to keep on crawling. I had no intention to die down there._

_The tunnel became narrower, and I found nearly impossible for me to advance. I had to twist and stretch my body in a way I didn't believe it was physically possible. For some reason, at that point I imagined myself as a kind of "human earthworm"... and nearly laughed at the picture in my mind._

"_Okay, I'm officially losing my head..."_

_That wasn't strange; there was very little oxygen in the tunnel, and I began to have serious breathing trouble. Fear struck my heart once more when I got stuck in the gallery; my shoulders were blocked and I couldn't move. Frantically, I shook my whole body, growling and squealing like a trapped animal -just what I was-. I scraped my skin, hit my head several times and lost my shoes, but I finally freed myself and continued my desperate journey._

_Now I was descending, which made my work a bit easier... until the ceiling became lower. I barely could lift my head, and I had to choose between scratching my head against the ceiling or dragging my face along the ground. Then it came a moment when I couldn't choose anymore. Luckily, the tunnel was now wide enough to let me move my arms, so I was able to move forward despite the painful fact that my whole skin was getting totally ruined; I hoped to find soon some water to clean my wounds before they could get infected. With so many scrapes, I would probably die if that happened._

_Obviously, as you can imagine, I was weeping during my whole race against death, but I did it silently. In such a place, just a single scream and I could say goodbye to my eardrums. If you manage to picture the entire scene, you will be surprised that I didn't have a heart attack. At least, I am._

_But even the most horrible nightmares come to an end... or at least they change. That's what happened. As I made my way through the gallery, I started to hear the rumor of water but didn't see any light yet, so I guessed it was an underground river._

_Suddenly, the tunnel turned into a slide and I fell into the void. When I sank onto the cold water, I nearly lost consciousness again, but fortunately the river wasn't too deep and I was able to reach the surface. Finally I got time to catch my breath. The air was still a bit rarified, but of course this was way better than being in the tunnel._

"_Ladies and gentlemen, we've got water..."_

_I had no idea that my mind could be so sarcastic in a life and death situation. Anyway, that wasn't the point now. My situation had got only a little better, but still I had to find a way out of the underground. As my sarcastic mind had pointed out, I had asked for water to clean my wounds, and I had plenty of water now. I only hoped it would be clean enough; last thing I needed was to wash myself in contaminated water. I wanted to get better, not to die faster._

"_Uh-huh... Nothing strange floating around... No nasty smell... Fine"_

_A bit of luck after all. That wasn't bad, but I still wanted to see again the light of day. However, having on count the time it was when I fell into that dark world, and the time I had spent unconscious and crawling through the tunnel, I guessed it would be already night at that time. It wasn't a good idea to get out into the wild. And it wasn't a good idea to stay for hours into the cold water, either; I made it to the bank and sat there, my feet still inside the water, as the bank was too small and I didn't want to move my knees. They hurt too much, and I knew why: they were totally raw. And I mean _totally. _Not even the smallest trace of skin covering my bleeding flesh. It was something that I'll never forget. Horrible, simply horrible. And my elbows weren't much better... If I had been able to see for just a second, I swear I would have passed out._

_I couldn't see, but I still could smell, hear, feel... and cry. I cried with all my heart, until I released all the pain inside me... I cried until I ran out of tears, and I stood there for a while, almost breathless._

_After that, I ripped part of my already torn blouse and carefully wrapped my elbows and my knees the best I could. When I finished, I had no sleeves, and just a few soaked shreds covered my chest and shoulders. There was no way I could survive to a cold autumn night in my condition._

_At a certain point, I turned my sore head to the right, and I perceived a very faint light in the distance. I kept on staring at the distant light for a while, and when I was ready, I gathered what little strength remained inside me and walked towards the beacon of hope._

_I moved myself slowly, "watching" my step, afraid to trip and fall and hurt me more than I already was. Despite my efforts, I slipped over the wet rocks and fell to the water. I was fed up with my bad luck and rose quickly, only to take a step and fall again. This time my face hit the shallow water, and as I put my hands on the ground and pushed up to lift my body, I felt anger rising within. No, it was more than anger: it was pure rage, making my blood boil inside my veins. I felt the need, no, the urge to revenge. Somebody had to pay for all what they had done to me. They ALL had to pay._

_But first I had to get out of there. With a steady pass, I finally managed to reach the old iron bars, partially covered by the vegetation. Great. I was trapped again. The water flowed freely through the rusty bars, but there was no way I could get out. I saw a door on the right side, which lead to a small, muddy path. Unfortunately, it was locked up, and despite being very old and rusty, my weak hands could do nothing to open it. I grabbed the bars and shook them as hard as I was able... it was futile._

_I screamed out loud, full of rage and desperation, but all I got was an answer from a lonely wolf._

_- SHUT UP, YOU STUPID WOLF!_

_It started to rain outside. I didn't give a damn. I just wanted to get out of there, no matter if it was raining, it was snowing or whatever it was doing..._

_As I was beginning to think on giving up, a lightning bolt illuminated the sky and showed me a possible way out: for a second, I saw a trap door on the ceiling, a few meters away from me. I placed myself right under the trap door and waited. A second lightning let me see a metallic ring placed on one of the sides of the door. Without a doubt, I jumped, grabbed the ring and pulled down firmly. The hinges were in such a poor condition, that they couldn't stand my weight: I fell to the ground with my fingers still clinging to the ring, but managed to avoid being hit by the door by moving my arm quickly enough to let the door crash against the ground._

_- And now how the heck...?_

_That time I didn't need a lightning to see the end of a rope hanging from the squared hole above my head. I got up and jumped, but missed my target. My wet socks slipped again over the bank and my buttocks hit the ground one more time. Pretty annoyed, I took off what remained of them and threw the shreds as far as I was able. I jumped again and this time I managed to touch and move the rope a bit, but couldn't grab it. After recovering stability, I looked and found it wasn't a simple rope, but a rope ladder with wooden rungs. I pulled it down and began to climb. My bare hands and feet slipped quite a few times, but that wasn't going to stop me. It took me several minutes, but I finally climbed up the ladder._

_I found myself in a short passage closed by a wooden door. Trying to maintain the calm, I searched for a knob and luckily I found it. The door wasn't locked up, so I only had to turn the knob and I was able to enter something that I presumed to be some kind of storage. As I walked around the place, I found what seemed to be sacks, boxes, barrels and similar stuff. When I was going to search for an exit, I remembered that out of there, what waited for me was the wilderness, and I decided I wasn't ready for that. Maybe I was terribly angry, but I hadn't become totally stupid in the last hours. The best thing I could do was trying to sleep a few hours and wait for the morning to restart my journey._

_I left the door open to let fresh air enter the room, then found a corner with several sacks and laid there. My tiredness made the rest, and in a few minutes my eyes closed._

_It can't be said my dreams were pleasant... They reflected the rage which was invading my soul, fighting to get out and punish the ones which had led me to my actual situation... all of them... Including my family..._

_For the first time in my life, I met my dark side... my real inner darkness..._

_And I started to accept it._

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><p><em><em>Hope you liked it. I'm already working on the next chapter, but I can't tell you when it will be finished. Until then... Happy New Year, everyone! :)


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